Sandro Tonali is set to complete a £52million transfer from AC Milan to Newcastle United.

The 23-year-old midfielder will become Newcastle’s second most expensive signing of all time following the £63million purchase of Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad last summer.

Despite spending over £250million on new signings since the October 2021 takeover, Newcastle have rarely put a foot wrong in the transfer market with Isak being one of several quality signings.

And former Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has backed Tonali to follow suit.

They are going to spend it [transfer budgest] where there is a need and Tonali certainly fits Eddie Howe’s profile because he’s a young, dynamic midfielder, who is box-to-box, more defensive,” Hislop said on ESPN. “They have a couple of those in [Bruno] Guimaraes and Joelinton.”

Tonali is set to become the most expensive Italian of all time when he joins Newcastle. And Hislop has attempted to justify the price, using Isak’s big money move as an example.

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Newcastle United are set to complete a move for Sandro Tonali and the Italy international will be a big addition off the field as well as on it after the Magpies did their homework

Sandro Tonali will be ‘nice person to have around’ the Newcastle United dressing room when the midfielder completes his move from AC Milan.

That is the view of international team-mate Wilfried Gnonto, who knows Tonali ‘very well’, and is ‘looking forward to having another Italian player here’. Gnonto made the move from Italy to England, himself, last summer and Tonali has already got the inside track on life in the Premier League from the Leeds United man.

Newcastle have also long done their homework on the midfielder, who has agreed personal terms on a six-year deal. Newcastle carry out extensive character checks to ensure prospective signings will not disrupt the spirit that has been so crucial to the Magpies’ rise from relegation candidates to Champions League qualifiers in the last 18 months.

Eddie Howe, who has enlisted the help of recruitment consultants over the years, wants to know every detail about a potential new arrival, whether it is their living situation, family life, interests outside the game or motivations, to build a profile to go with the data and scouting reports already compiled by the recruitment team. New signings do not necessarily have to be squeaky clean, but they have to buy into the work ethic and team-first mentality at the club.

Tonali, a leader who was earmarked as a future skipper of AC Milan, will clearly be a positive addition to the group, which is an added bonus given what the Italy international can do on the field, too.

“As a person, he’s just really calm,” Gnonto told ChronicleLive. “He’s very funny, humble and a nice person to have around in the dressing room. I’m just happy to know him.”